Meet: Don Durston

Aerospace Engineer

What is your area of expertise?
Airplane aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, and wind tunnel testing.

What do you do?
Most of my work is done at my desk—doing project planning, making
test plans for wind tunnel or water tow tank testing, analyzing data,
writing and presenting technical papers and reports. When I'm in
testing, I'll usually work for several weeks (if not months) straight
in the wind tunnel or at the tow tank. My work is always interesting
because I do different things every day.

How did you first become interested in this profession?
I have always loved airplanes, and I knew from my earliest days in school
that I would either fly airplanes for a living, or study them for a living
and fly them for fun. I have been doing the latter since my college days,
and I really enjoy having a good working knowledge of how airplanes fly as
I take friends and family up in my airplane for sight-seeing tours. I
have also been an avid fan and supporter of the space program since my youth,
and every mission has been a source of inspiration to me to dream big and be
a part of NASA's spirit of exploration.

What helped prepare you for this job?
It all started when I was a kid. I built model airplanes and hung
them from my bedroom ceiling. I read books about airplanes and
rockets, and I launched model rockets out in the desert. As my
skills and knowledge grew, I flew radio-control model airplanes and sailplanes. Then
in college I turned my flying dreams into reality by taking flying lessons
in a Cessna 152. All of this hands-on experience helped me tremendously
as I studied aerospace engineering in college—I felt like I had
an intuitive familiarity with the equations of flight as I learned them
for the first time in my classes. My fascination with things that
move through the atmosphere and space fueled my imagination of possibilities
of neat things to work on. Now that I have a career in NASA, I
look back and see how blessed I've been to have worked on so many interesting
things. A saying that epitomizes my career is, "Little boys
don't grow up; they just play with more expensive model airplanes." So
far, the most expensive model I've played with is the five-million dollar
HWT model I tested in the 12-foot wind tunnel. I look forward to
seeing what's in my future.

Who were your role models or inspirations?
My dad was my greatest role model and inspiration. He encouraged
me to pursue every dream I had, and he was very active in helping me
with my hobbies. Legends like Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong showed
me that one's possibilities are endless if one puts his mind to it.

1991–1993: Sonic boom propagation and loudness predictions—worked
with team doing wind tunnel testing and predictions of sonic booms from
new supersonic transport designs

1993–2000: Project manager for High Wing Transport Project—conducted
a test in the12-Ft Pressure Wind Tunnel of a semi-span C-17 model with
two turbine-powered simulators (TPS units) on the wing

2000–present: Project manager for wake vortex alleviation studies—doing
tests in a long water tow tank (60 m) to study the roll-up and interactions
of trailing vortices from the wing and tail of airliner configurations. The
goal of this research is to get the vortices to break down sooner than
normal so they won't be as much as a hazard for following airplanes and
so that airplanes can be more closely spaced together, thus increasing
airport capacity.

What do you like about your job?
Having a good variety of fun projects to work on. I started my
career testing supersonic fighter models and studying their overall aerodynamics—I
always felt like these were really "cool," and I loved having
the inside scoop on how they flew. Now I'm focusing more on the
details of aerodynamics as I consider the vortices left in the wakes
of wings and tails of aircraft, and I've shot some really fascinating
videos of the vortex interactions. I get a kick out of presenting
these videos to an audience and watching their faces light up in wonder.

What don't you like about your job?
All the paperwork required to get things done. Fortunately, much
of that is being streamlined now by doing things electronically, but
there is a fair amount of administrative overhead associated with every
job.

What is your advice to anyone interested in this occupation?
Let your imagination run wild and lead you to pursue your interests. If
you get your training and education in something that fascinates you,
it will all come much more easily to you. Your vocation will seem "alive" to
you if you have a genuine interest in it. Your knowledge and skills
will be gained through your spirit of discovery. I still wonder
how something as big as a 747 can ever get off the ground, how we actually
sent 12 men to explore the moon and brought them back alive, and how
those little Mars rovers got to be so smart and how much fun they are
having. Air and space provides great venues for discovery, and
I want to be a part of what mankind is learning by living and working
in them.

What kinds of skills are important to have for this position?
A strong math, science, and engineering background is essential for this
type of work. If you're not a wiz in this stuff, don't worry. I
wasn't, but I took the classes and I've learned a lot on the job. The
sharing of knowledge and expertise among co-workers enables one to
build skills throughout one's career. For working with hardware
and doing testing, it is helpful to have good hands-on skills. Good
people skills are a must, since one rarely works alone, and in the
stress of a testing environment, getting along with others while the
pressure is on is the only way to make progress. One must also
be willing to always learn new things, and taking extra classes and
training beyond the formal schooling enhances one's career.

What are your interests outside of work?
I love to fly my Cessna 172 for sight-seeing or taking trips. I
also enjoy snow and water skiing, hiking, cycling, and traveling. But
my greatest involvement outside of work is with my church—I want
to do all I can to help other adults and kids understand who Jesus Christ
is and what life is all about, and how to live life to the fullest as
Jesus desires for us.

What is your favorite scientific fact or words of advice?
Don't let anyone tell you that you don't have potential!